24 December 2023 , 09:00
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Scott Maslen has revealed why Jack Branning could find himself on the floor of the Queen Vic on Christmas Day.
EastEnders fans have been obsessing over the identity of the Christmas Day murder victim ever since the flashforward episode aired in February. Earlier this year, Jack would have seemed a ridiculous suggestion as a potential victim, but with his marriage in the fallout of two affairs, he could well enjoy his final Christmas this year.
In recent scenes, Jack enjoyed a night of passion with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), months after his marriage hit the rocks when his wife Denise Fox (Diane Parish) betrayed him with Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). EastEnders have confirmed Stacey, Denise, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) as the potential killers.
Meanwhile, Jack, Ravi, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley), Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) and Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) are the seven suspected victims. However, speaking to the Mirror, Scott advised fans to expect the unexpected with Jack.
Who will be killed and who will be to blame this Christmas Day? (BBC)He said: "I hear from actors, ‘My character wouldn’t do that,’ and I always say, ‘Well, you’re not going to last long in the game.’ Because if you want to be long in the game, your character is gonna go a lot of places so be prepared and it's fun."
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Scott revealed Jack could be tempted to return to his past bad behaviour. He said: "When I started, Jack was a bit naughty, it’s takes a thief to catch a thief, and I've spent so long in the job that they've made me see error of my ways and that's the great thing about a show like this, is that you get to live with someone for a long time. EastEnders is back into the place where it used to be in the old days, different generations are coming up and loving it.
"For Jack, you’ve got his reunion with Denise, with the new baby, we’ve got the Fox/Slater/Branning [family] so that opens that door. The nature of it is that you can go anywhere with your characters."
Jack recently spent the night with Stacey (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)The actor revealed at the National Television Awards: "It's really good at EastEnders at the minute they've got it back to it being about storylines and about characters. There's a lot of great families and it isn't weak in any areas. I think we're in a really good place and it's inspiring.
"They’ve brought in some great new actors, some from the past for that nostalgic element. EastEnders has that umbrella of so many different generations and you can't cut out any of them, you’ve got to paint us all. We’ve got a great cast, it's a very exciting time."
Jack is no stranger to hard-hitting storylines, and his character could well be involved in the fallout of the Christmas Day murder even if he isn't to blame. He added: "I’ve had so many different storylines, babies swapped, wives dying. Jack’s a dirty dog, he’s been through the square but he’s an older man now.
"I’ve got a daughter, these are all issues that are really interesting in this modern world. He’s a policeman, he’s in the square but he knows people are watching him and they can’t say too much because he might find out about things they’d rather keep quiet. I think that’s a good element to have in EastEnders."
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